Charles Leclerc’s incredible start in last weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix helped Ferrari to keep their championship hopes alive until the final lap of the season.
Taking advantage of a lively first lap ahead of him, Leclerc leapt 11 places from 19th on the grid. By vaulting to eighth place at the start, he put himself on course to finish third behind team mate Carlos Sainz Jnr.
Lando Norris’s victory in the race meant Ferrari’s constructors’ championship hopes were dashed. But they pushed McLaren much harder than seemed likely when the field lined up with two MCL38s on the front row and Leclerc’s Ferrari at the opposite end of the grid.
“I knew I had to be very aggressive,” said Leclerc after the race. “I knew that in lap one, I had to take all the risks possible in order to gain as many places as possible.”
Collisions involving the two Red Bull drivers – Max Verstappen spun Oscar Piastri while Sergio Perez was hit by Valtteri Bottas – undoubtedly helped Leclerc on his way. However he also had to rely on his skills to pick off most of the others.
Leclerc out-dragged Alexander Albon away from the line and dodged Yuki Tsunoda who was slow to get away in his RB. He passed Jack Doohan into turn one, so he had already made up three places before passing Verstappen and Piastri following their turn one clash. He also gained a place from Zhou Guanyu who took to the run-off at turn one.
Having started on the medium tyre compound, Leclerc was able to out-drag Lewis Hamilton’s hard-tyred Mercedes through turn three. He then drove around the outside of Lance Stroll at turn five. He was up to 11th as he reached the back straight.
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Approaching turn six, Leclerc took the outside line and out-braked Liam Lawson. He was already working his way around the outside of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez when the pair made contact. Leclerc emerged from the corner in eighth place, and gave a “woohoo” in delight on his radio when race engineer Bryan Bozzi informed him of his progress.
It’s extremely rare for an F1 driver to make a double-digit place gain in a single lap. Leclerc’s start was by far the best of any other driver this year.
Technically, one driver made up 11 places at the start last year, but it can’t be considered the same as Leclerc’s feat. Kevin Magnussen…
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